Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to ore dressing method and to concentration of metal values in ores by flotation. More particularly, the invention provides a new and valuable method of recovering metal values from ores, whereby froth flotation of a slurry of the ore is conducted in the presence of a collector consisting essentially of a mixture of certain phosphorodithioic compounds with certain organic thiono compounds.
Flotation is a widely used method of concentrating ores, and it is believed to be the most commonly used ore dressing process. It is based on the fact that when air bubbles are introduced into a ground ore pulp, particles of some minerals will become attached to the bubbles, whereas other minerals will not become so attached and remain in the pulp. Certain chemicals facilitate flotation by conferring adherence and/or water-repellency to surfaces of minerals to be floated, and such chemicals have been generally called "promoters" or "collectors." Herein, they will be referred to as collectors.
Industrially, collectors for use in flotation are of great importance because even a very small improvement in the efficiency of the collector can have immense commercial effect. With the growing current practice of tailings retreatment, the cost efficiency of the collector becomes increasingly significant. Also of concern are possible toxicity and environmental applications as well as storage and handling.